Though it’s not unusual for an expansion pack to be farmed out to an alternate developer, it is a little odd to see one top flight developer pass its work to another top flight developer. But that’s what happened with Asian Dynasties. Preoccupied with Halo Wars, Ensemble decided to let Rise of Legends developer Big Huge Games have a shot at the number one real time strategy franchise and their expansion has a few of those Timonium touches that separate Brian Reynolds’ outfit from the rest of the pack.

With Europe and the North American natives covered, BHG threw three Asian civilizations into the mix. Japan is your traditional infantry/cavalry army, built on a culture that won’t hunt. China builds “banner armies” – a mixture of troops to fulfill a specific purpose. India recruits villagers with wood and uses elephants. Each nation’s economy is as distinct as their armies.

This poses some interesting challenges. The Japanese can’t hunt for food – they can only fish, gather or farm. So an inland map running over with bison will force them to use cherry orchards or expensive rice paddies. Wood is a scarce resource on many maps, so the Indians could have trouble getting their economy going until they get some shipments from home – many Indian Home City cards come with a free villager. The new Asian maps are clearly designed to give each Asian civ a fair chance and some of them (especially Honshu and Indochina) make the battle for naval superiority truly significant.

The Asians do get a few notable advantages over their predecessors. Like the natives, they get souped up explorers that will make it even more challenging for the European interlopers. One Spanish guy with a dog is no match for two healing shamans or a kung fu leader who can summon disciples to kick butt.

The Asians advance in ages by building wonders, each of which confers a benefit on the civ. So instead of just spending the food and gold and just getting shipments, the Indians can build a giant fort or the Chinese can build a magic healing temple. The benefits can be decisive if you deploy the right wonder at the right time.

The most interesting difference is the consulate. Apparently not happy with having samurais or keshiks or cannon elephants, the Asian powers can build a structure that lets them recruit a European power to their side. As the nations collect food, wood and gold, they also accumulate a fourth resource called “exports”. This green leafy thing can then be spent on European troops and technology. The Russians will send a blockhouse, the Turks a giant bombard, etc. And the more exports you spend, the bigger the force you get.

Like the wonders, it’s a mirror of the home city system. Should you burn off those resources to get some relatively cheap infantry or do you save them up for that larger French brigade? If you need a large foreign force fast, you can speed up the export collection rate, but that slows down all other resource collection. Since decisions need to be made quickly in real time strategy games, there’s inevitably a sense of buyer’s remorse if you choose too soon. But familiarity with the wonders and the consular options (high level Asians get four nations to choose from) will eventually lead to a clear plan with minor modifications depending on the map and opponents.